Haunted
by IamKatieG.DaughterofDemeter
Summary: Jason had left her. He had come back yes, but he wasn't HER Jason. He didn't see the pain he put her through. But can he make it up to her? Based on Taylor Swift's song Haunted. Angsty in the beginning but fluffy afterwards. I'm sorry if this summery sucked. But PLEASE just give it a chance. Thank you!


Hey! Back with a new fic and the credit for this plot goes to Gaga4Jeyna! Go check out her fics! They're awesome! And thank you for clicking on this!

Diclaimer: Yes I am totally Rick Riordan and that's why I'm begging people to read my stories on fanfiction. What? I'm NOT Rick? Oh well you got me. Nothing belongs to me, not even the plot. Lyrics to T Swift, characters to Rick, and plot to Gaga4Jeyna.

No more stalling! Here we go!

* * *

**You and I walk a fragile line****  
****I have known it all this time**

They were the closest friends. They had the perfect relationship. You'd have to be blind not to see the chemistry. But that was it, friends. It was the best yet worst relationship. They had the kind of friendship where they could go out to see a movie, almost like a date. Then go back and just hang out like friends. But sometimes you just didn't know where you stood.

**But I never thought I'd live to see it break**

The moment she saw them holding hands she felt something snap. After what he said, she watched all those dreams of happy reunions, the fantasies that had kept her sane, fly out the window. He had a girlfriend. A Greek girlfriend. Now she could see she had been grasping at straws. It would never be the same.

All those sleepless nights were catching up to her. She felt the weight on her shoulders got even heavier knowing he wouldn't come and help her bear it.

**It's getting dark and it's all too quiet****  
****And I can't trust anything now****  
**

When she first came to camp she didn't trust anyone, especially males. It had taken him months to get her to acknowledge he even existed, a year to learn that she loved jellybeans, and another to find she wasn't as perfect as everyone thought. Then three more to finally become her friend.

He was the only one who knew everything about her. Her every move. The only one who had made it beyond her defenses. The only one who hadn't given up on her when she pushed him away. He was her confidant. He was the other half of her heart, the very being of her soul, and now he was gone. She didn't trust anyone. She had made that mistake once now. She _couldn't_ trust anything.

**And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake****  
**

At first he didn't see the pain he put her through. Yup. It took a beating from Bobby and Dakota, some clawing and scratching from Gwen, a whole lot of yelling, a Reyna that apparently didn't know he was back and probably didn't care anymore, a very pissed off Piper and an extremely confused him to finally come around to the fact that he had been an effing jerk to his family, his home, his best friends, his Reyna. And now all he wanted was to take it back. But for once, Jason Grace couldn't have what he wanted.

**Oh, I'm holding my breath****  
****Won't lose you again****  
****something's made your eyes go cold****  
**

When she saw him with that Greek she looked at how happy they were. Laughing, smiling, looking all love struck, and mushy. She couldn't stand it. It made her want to puke. She soon found she wasn't alone in making faces at the extreme PDA.

"I know. It's gross right? At least you guys were cute."  
"Gwen!" Reyna exclaimed and turned to faced a very disgusted Gwen.  
"But he doesn't look the same. When you were next to him-"  
"No! Stop. Don't go there."  
"But Reyna, you have to-"  
"No, no, NO! I won't. He doesn't exist! All of it was nothing. Don't say anything."  
Instead Gwen started whistling Sparks Fly. Reyna shot her a dirty look.  
"What? I wasn't saying anything. But just so you know, hiseyesdon'tlightupliketheydidwhenhewaswithyou."  
She said it so fast the words were all linked together in one long string.  
"Kay, bye!"  
"What? Gwen!"  
Reyna stood there for a while thinking about her best girlfriend's words. Then she turned back to look and realized it was true. His eyes were missing that sparkle. That Roman sparkle.

**Come on, come on, don't leave me like this****  
****I thought I had you figured out****  
**

He was the only one who hadn't given up when she pushed him away. In fact it had only made him push back even harder. At first she thought it was just because he liked the chase. After all, no one had ever refused Jason Grace before. She was the first girl to not melt at his feet and scream that she wasn't worthy. But no. He had truly wanted to be her friend, to get to know her for who she really was. Not as praetor Reyna. But the girl under the armor.

He was honest. He was loyal. A true Roman. Yes he took time for some indulgence. But when the time came, he put his duty before all. For all his tricks and pranks he was never dishonest. And those were traits she admired. She had trusted him. So when he said that he 'would never give up', she believed him. When he said that he wasn't lying, she believed him. And when he said he 'would never leave her, never' she had believed him. But it was all too perfect. All too cliché, and of course Reyna was never one to have anything go right for her.

**Something's gone terribly wrong****  
****You're all I wanted****  
**

The warnings Venus had given her rang in her ears. "Stay away from him. Don't get too close. I have other plans for him. You will have dodged a potentially deadly bullet." After that she was distant. And rightly so. After all, wouldn't you be too if the goddess of love herself came and told you the boy you just might like would probably break your heart? But he didn't give up. He pushed back too. And soon enough, though against Reyna's will, they became friends. She wouldn't let them get any closer. But somehow, he still managed to break her heart.

**Come on, come on, don't leave me like this****  
****I thought I had you figured out****  
****Can't breathe whenever you're gone**  
**Can't turn back now, I'm haunted****  
**

She was left waiting in the cold. Shouldering a job meant for two. She had cried herself to sleep more than once now. She was Praetor Reyna. The perfect Roman. But under all that, she was just a girl. And that girl could break. It took all her power not to lose hope. Lose hope in him. In the fact that he _would_ come back. But when he did come back, he wasn't _her _Jason. No. And that was the last straw. She couldn't hold on for much longer.

She saw him everywhere. She would see him at the cafe drinking his usual half hot chocolate half coffee. He would be by the temple of Jupiter praying to his father. But she knew it couldn't be true. No. He was gone. Kidnapped, something. It was horrible. Octavian kept saying he was a traitor and that praetor elections should be held soon because he was dead. 'I'm slowly going crazy,' she thought. 'Jason where are you when I need you most? Where is my saving grace?'

**Stood there and watched you walk away****  
****From everything we had****  
**

He left and never looked back. Never looked back at all the memories that they had shared. All those little things, like how they would share a smile in the morning and the specific snack they just had to have in order to work all night. The big things, like when she had come to camp and was the first and only one to ever beat him in a duel, finally becoming friends, and even their first kiss. And the hard times they had faced, like all those close calls, times they had saved each other, even fighting a war together. No, he probably didn't care about any that anymore.

**But I still mean every word I said to you****  
**

He might not care, but she did. She lived in memories. Those precious moments of the past. She had known that she would get hurt. Venus had warned her of that. But she wouldn't have it any other way.  
And all those words. Those empty promises. She had kept her half of them, but you can't tell half truths.

**He would try to take away my pain****  
****And he just might make me smile****  
****But the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead****  
**

Maybe it was because she needed something to take her from this place of worry frustration and anger. Maybe it was because of how carefree he seemed and that she wanted that. Wanted to feel happy and free again. To be unburdened by the heavy weight on her shoulders. Whatever the reason, something drove her to Leo. She had seen him from time to time always causing mischief but she never really met him. So one morning she went up to him and in typical Reyna fashion said, "Hello Leo Valdez I am Reyna. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Leo took one long stare at her and finally burst out laughing. She was so confused. Had she done something wrong? Was it something she said?

"Oh man you should've seen your face! You were all like what the frick is wrong with this dude!? Ha! Okay rule número uno: when around the Valdez: Don't be uptight and formal. It ruins my vibe," he had a ridiculous look on his face, like he was constipated. He gave her a lopsided grin. "And second: Aren't you my best bud's ex?"

"What?!" spluttered Reyna. "Excuse me!? I am no one's anything!"  
"Well then, kitty has some claws," he muttered under his breathe.

"What was that?" she asked looking indignant.

"Oh nothing."

It took awhile but they found a rhythm. He would do these outrageous things and she would just laugh and smile. It felt better yes. But all the while she was thinking about all the trouble Jason, Bobby, and Dakota had gotten into. And that fateful night she got her first kiss. As she looked back, she never thought she'd ever be grateful for elephant dung.

**Oh, I'm holding my breath****  
****Won't see you again****  
**

He couldn't take it. She was ignoring him like he didn't exist. And Piper wasn't any help either. She was getting clingier. She would complain he was getting distant and worried too much about what didn't matter. And maybe he was. But he couldn't pull away. It seemed that Reyna was spending more time around Leo than he, his best friend, was. He saw her talking with him. Drinking smoothies in a cafe in New Rome. He knew he shouldn't be, but he was jealous. He had Piper, after all. Shouldn't that make him happy? Why did he care about who Reyna was hanging out with? But for some reason he couldn't stand the thought of Reyna being with someone. And he couldn't help thinking how it had taken him Years to get her to open up to him. And here Leo was, getting her to open up to him in a matter of days!

**something keeps me holding on to nothing****  
**

She had to keep believing. She couldn't give up hope. It was the only thing keeping her from breaking down into a pile of hormonal teenaged mush. She would be strong for her people for Rome for Jason. She wouldn't let go. Not yet.

**I know, I know, I just know****  
****You're not gone. You can't be gone. No.****  
**

She didn't have to put up with Octavian's complaints but she did because she had foolishly thought that Jason would come back. And he had come back, yes. But he wasn't her Jason. Her Jason had left that fateful night so long ago. Her Jason was gone.

**Come on, come on, don't leave me like this****  
****I thought I had you figured out****  
****Something's gone terribly wrong**

She was having a horrible day. She had found the paperwork she stayed up late to do scattered everywhere with ink splattered all over them. She was a wreck. Last night her dreams were plagued with Piper and Jason laughing and smiling together. Her emotions were threatening to burst through her mask. She was on her way to her villa to collect herself when a rude voice stopped her in her tracks.

"You! Stop trying to steal my boyfriend! You had your chance so back off! You're holding him back. He could do sooo much better than you. The other day I asked him about you and you know what he said?"

Reyna just stood there shaking her head dumbly. Normally she wouldn't give a gods freaking damn about this but something in Piper's voice made her listen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason saw something whir past him. When he turned to look back he realized it was Reyna. He tried to call after her but she was already gone. He shrugged and headed up the hill to find piper. "Hey," he said as he neared her.

"Hey!" She was smiling and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "

Well you're awfully chipper today."

"Yep! Hey just wondering, did you happen to see Reyna?"

Her face darkened. "Actually I just talked to her."

Jason raised his eyebrows.  
"What did you say to her?"

"Oh nothing."

"Really?"

"Okay fine." She shrugged. "I told her the truth and that she was holding you back."

"What? No! That's not true!"

"Yes it is! You're constantly ignoring me and you're so distant! This is not how it's supposed to be! She's ruining you! I'm supposed to be the one you care about! Not her!'

He shook his head in disbelief. "No. That's it. We're over."

"What?!" she shrieked. "No! Jason, come back!"

But he was long gone running after his Reyna.

"Reyna! Reyna wait! Reyna-"

"What? What do you want?" She spun around to face him. Jason started to speak when he saw her face. There wear tears streaming down her cheeks and her eyes flashed of betrayal and hurt.

"I... I just wanted to say I'm-"

"You're what? Sorry?" she spat. "Ha!" she laughed humorlessly. "You here to tell me that you're happier without me? That I'm not good enough for you? That I should live a happy life without you? Well I will! So good bye Jason Grace!" And with that she turned on her heels. "Reyna wait! I broke up with her!" he blurted.

She stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"I broke up with Piper."

"Oh, well good for you."

"No, listen to me." He was standing close to her. Barely a step away. 'I asked her what she said to you and she said she told you that you were holding me back and I didn't love you anymore, that I would be happier without you? Is that true?" He reached up and cupped her cheek. She hesitated then nodded. But she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Well I never said any of those things about you. I've been torn thinking about you. I want, no, I need you Reyna. Gods damn it! I would never even _dream_ of any of those things. You don't hold me back Reyna," he said looking deep into her coffee black eyes. "You push forward. You make me better. Better than I could ever be otherwise. I couldn't live without you. And don't ever doubt that Reyna don't _ever_ doubt that."

**Won't finish what you started****  
**

It had several years since the Giant wars and things had settled down quite a bit.

"Jason! Where are you taking me?!"

"Rey Rey! I told you!" whined Jason. "It's a surprise!"

"Well this better be good."

"Trust me it will be." They were heading towards the forest along the edges of camp.

"Alright. Now cover your eyes.'

"What? Why?"

"Cover them or I'll do it for you."

"And if I don't?" she challenged.

"Then I'll tickle you!"

"Okay, okay, fine."

One little known fact about fierce Praetor Reyna was that she was extremely ticklish, and Jason loved to use that to his advantage. They were walking deeper into the woods. When they reached a clearing Jason said "Okay now open them."

Reyna looked around. Her jaw dropped open.

"You- you still remember?" He nodded. "This-" she let go of his hand and walked around in a daze. Her hands ran over a swing now over grown with vines. The sunlight lit streaks through the leaves the light green glow was warm and comforting. "I-" she struggled to form a complete sentence. "This is the spot..."

"Yep."

"How did you find it? I thought Terra's forces wrecked this spot!"

"Well I may have had a little help from the Trivia kids," he admitted.

"I'm going to regret saying this but you Jason grace really are amazing," she said with a faint knowing smile. Jason loved that smile. It was as rare as a double rainbow but more beautiful than anything else he'd ever seen. Reyna sat on the swing and with a twinkle in her eye asked "Would you do the honors?"

"Of course milady."

They spent the whole morning there. Jason pushing Reyna on the swing and her laughing like a little school girl. Those were the moments worth living for. Those moments made up the true definition of happiness. After a while Jason stopped. He made his way to the front of the swing. He just stood there for a while basking in the beauty that was his Spanish queen. Reyna looked amused. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know just thinking about how lucky I am to have you and how beautiful you are." She slapped him lightly. "Stop that! Has Gwen been brainwashing you again?"

He shuddered remembering last time. Gwen had made them spend six hours straight hours learning to slow dance because apparently they needed to 'learn to appreciate the elegance and beauty of dance'. Gwen's words not his.

"No I mean it!"

"You really are a cheeseball aren't you?"

"But you wouldn't have me any other way" he sang.

**Oh****You and I walk a fragile line****  
****I have known it all this time****  
****Never ever thought I'd see it break.****  
**

Jason and Reyna were still in the clearing by late afternoon. He had brought some sandwiches and jellybeans for snacking on. He was currently sitting behind Reyna playing with her hair. He had convinced her to let it out of its standard braid. It was so soft and smooth. He liked the bumps it had from the plait. It tumbled over her shoulder in a waterfall, glowing softly in the light. "So Reyna."

"Mmm hmm."

"I've been thinking."

"And we all know how dangerous that is."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, keep going."

"Right so we can't be praetors forever. We're going to have to step down sometime."

"But why?" whined Reyna. "

You know that Lupa already stretched the limit for us."

"Yes but I can't imagine doing anything else."

"Yeah, it'll be a hard change. I've been thinking about possible jobs."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking about going to law school. And you know you'd make a pretty badass police officer."

She smiled at that. "A police officer eh? I like that."

"I thought you might."

No more beating around the bush he thought to himself. Just man up and do it, I've put it off for long enough. He pulled Reyna up and led her back over to the swing.

"Sit down, there's something I want to do."

She raised her eyebrow but did as he said. He got down on one knee and Reyna gasped. "Are you-"

"Shh. Reyna, I first met you when I was twelve. On the first day you beat me in a sword fight without any legion training. You mesmerized me, but you weren't interested. I had to earn your trust and your friendship and that made it all the more important to me. We stood side by side in the Titan wars. You were the reason I had enough strength to defeat Krios. We were raised as praetor. Spent long nights in the principia, and in the process discovered my weird obsession for Kit-Kats and your already known obsession for jellybeans. Then I made the worst mistake ever. I left you and forgot. I forgot everything we had. And when I realized what jerk I had been I came to beg for forgiveness. You had every reason to hate me yet you still took me back. I know I'm not good enough for you but you don't agree. And Reyna I don't ever want to lose you again. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are amazing and beautiful. Smart and strong. You don't need a prince charming to save you and I love that about you. So Reyna would you give me the honor to ask: will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?" He pulled out a small navy blue box from his back pocket. He opened it and in it laid a small dainty ring. The band was rose gold entwined with platinum like two branches. The stones were a central large princess cut diamond with two small purple and blue ones on either side, which were held by small leaves sprouting off the band. "I- I-" she was breathless she shook out of her trance and cried "Yes! Yes. I will marry you. Yes." Jason picked her up and spun her in a circle. He set her down and kissed her with everything he felt for her. All the love and adoration the trust and loyalty. When they broke apart she was blushing furiously and he was smiling triumphantly. "So Madame grace, do you want to go tell everyone else?"

"Nah. Let them figure it out themselves."

"You know Gwen is going to kill you for that." She smiled knowingly. Some things never changed.

**Never thought I'd see it...****  
**

* * *

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I have worked very hard and would really love some feedback. Even an 'okay' or 'bad' or 'good' would make my day! Thanks again! **


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